Rescuers fought to save a baby sperm whale washed ashore on a Florida beach on Oct. 1, but despite intense efforts, the whale died.
A member of the Flagler Beach Police Department, along with several residents, tried to rescue the beached whale, according to George Biedenbach, director of conservation programs at Georgia Aquarium’s Conservation Field Station at Marineland.
“It had beached itself and it was clearly in distress,” Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney said on Oct. 4, according to the News-Journal. “Unfortunately it didn’t survive, but kudos to the citizens who tried to help.”
“Officer Maria Guerrero jumped in to help stabilize the whale and stayed in the water as the sun went down and for a good hour after that,” said Rob Smith, one of the rescuers, in a Facebook post.
“Maria spent around 2 hours in the water with waves pounding our backs to keep the whale stable. I spent about 45 minutes next to her,” Smith wrote.
“She was asked several times if she wanted to take a break and she said no. In full uniform minus her bat man belt.”
“From what the Whitney Lab/ Marineland guy said, this is the first time a sperm whale has shown up on our shores,” Smith said in another Facebook post, which featured a photo showing the whale surrounded by rescuers.
Biedenbach told the News-Journal that the whale’s cause of death won’t be known until the necropsy is done.
“The sperm whale is the largest toothed whale. Most people know it as the Moby Dick whale,” Biedenbach told reporters, before saying that it was unusual for the calf to have wandered so close to shore.
“They should be beyond the (continental) shelf,” he said, “They should not be in this far.”
Biedenbach told the News-Journal that it was impossible to know what happened to the baby whale’s mother.
“Is the mom alive? Did she survive childbirth? Did she not? Did the calf not keep up with the mom? Was she preyed upon while she was giving birth? There are plenty of things that could happen,” he said, according to the report.
The Flagler Beach Police Department shared a video of the rescue on Facebook.
“FBPD Officer Guerrero and other Flagler Beach citizens were there to try and save this baby sperm whale and await Marineland’s arrival,” the FBPD stated in the post.
“You guys tried so hard to save that baby,” commented Deborah Hayden. “So sorry he didn’t make it?”
FBPD replied, “The effort by all involved shows what a huge heart this community has. ?”
